Aquaponics Systems are a great way for you to begin growing your own food sustainably and at home! With an aquaponics system you combine aquaculture and hydroponics to create a system that allows you to grow crops and if applicable, fish for food. You will feed the fish and the fish “feed” the plants with their waste product. The plants will grow and become ready for harvest. If a proper fish species is chosen, the fish itself can be harvested and eaten. This type of system creates an aquaponics veggie & fish farm. This article will discuss the differences between a vertical aquaponics system and a horizontal one.
Vertical Aquaponic System
Vertical aquaponics systems are sometimes called aquaponics towers. These setups are common outdoors but it is more than possible to have one indoors. This vertical fish tank garden can have a footprint as small as a 1 gallon fish tank but you’ll see even larger setups indoors and outdoors. Small aquariums will not allow you to house fish for consumption but will still allow you to create a small garden with the bonus of owning a fish like a betta fish! Betta fish are one of the best fish for aquaponics in small spaces. Check out this really small aquaponics system created for indoor use.
Aquaponics systems do not have to be incredibly expensive. If you are handy with some tools, you are more than capable of creating DIY aquaponics systems. However, if you’re not handy or you’re not comfortable with your DIY skills, check out this small Aquaponics kit on Amazon. Minus the fish and water, this aquaponics kit has just about everything you need to start your vertical aquaponics journey. If you do purchase that aquaponic kit, be sure to provide your fish with plenty of decorations and places to hide!
Horizontal Aquaponics Systems
The horizontal aquaponic system is not as common indoors because of the amount of space it can potentially use. You’ll often see larger tubs connected to tubes that run horizontally across large areas in this type of setup. The tubs will usually hold fish for aquaponics that are strictly ornamental or good to eat! The tubes will have holes drilled into them which will house the plants. Check out this video on how to build an aquaponics system.
Once again, if you’re handy and want to test out your DIY skills, it should not take much to put together a nice and simple aquaponics system. However, if you need a little help, consider looking into purchasing predrilled tubes for a hydroponics setup like this one on Amazon and customize it to house an aquarium.
Final Notes
Large or small, aquaponic systems are a great way to enter the realm of growing your own food. You are essentially combing farming and fish keeping to create a fish tank garden! Aquaponic farming is a growing industry. Vertical & horizontal aquaponic systems will continue to grow as humans continue to run out of space for traditional farming. Growing your own food can save you a lot of money in the long run, so why not give this a shot?